Summer Stock Feeding And Scope for Improvement

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18587, 22 December 1934, Page 13

Summer Stock Feeding And Scope for Improvement

JHOUCIH farmers in general are more concerned about their shortcomings in respect of the winter feeding ot' stock, and though there is much scope for improvement in respect to winter feeding, there is probably just as much inefficient summer feeding of stock as there is inefficient, winter feeding of stock. And, unfortunately, some of the inefficiency in summer feeding cannot be ns readily removed as the inefficiency in winter feeding.

Inefficient summer feeding is of two distinct types. In the first place, in early summer an important and a common weakness in the feeding of “wet” stock, including sows and ewes as well as dairy cows, lies in the quality as distinct from the quantity of the feed. On the other hand, for some weeks after midsummer, while the supply of feed is sometimes deficient. in quality, it is probably more often deficient in quantity. As the early summer weakness in respect to quality is to some extent interrelated with the later weakness in respect to quantity, the two conveniently may be considered together.

In practice, enough consideration does not seem to be given to the fact that the bulk or weight of such important summer crops ns grass and clover, green lucerne, and green millet is very misleading as a measure ,of their feeding value. The facts relative to grass and clovers exemplify in essential respects the position in regard to the other crops mentioned* states the Journal of Agriculture. The dry matter —that is, the residue after all water hns been, removed —of leafy pasture contains approximately twice as much phosphate of lime as the same amount of dry matter from corresponding herbage at the hay stage of growth; similarly it contains about two and a-half times as much protein, and, further, about 80 per cent, of the dry matter of leafy herbage is digestible, whereas only from 40 to 50 per ceut. of the dry matter ,of similar pasture in the hay stage is digestible. The practical importance of these facts is that the rations of “wet” stock frequently fall short of requirements in mineral matter which is re-, quired for bone and milk formation, in protein which is required for milk and flesh formation, and in digestibility —• high ,or rapid production is necessarily linked with high digestibility. A measure of the feeding-value of typical leafy pasture is the fact that its dry matter is practically identical with that of the standard concentrate, linseed cake. On the other hand,, a substantial part of the dry matter of a stemmy or woody crop is analogous in nutritive value to sawdust, and, further, dry matter of this sort affects detrimentally some of the remaining dry matter by making it less digestible. In brief, leafy grass and kindred feeds are essentially diluted highclass concentrates, whereas stemmy growth tends to belong to the inferior class of feed which is sometimes termed “roughage” or “coarse fodder.”

The basic differences between leafy and' stemmy pasture growth emphasise the need for management which as consistently and continuously as possible will beget leafy growth. This* management consists primarily of the systematic grazing, ensilage, and “topping. ’ ’